Nevada Bets on Solar
Published January 21. 2022
On-line editorial site Stacker recently analyzed the top 10 state solar economies by job count. There were a number of surprising names including the top two states. There were also a couple surprises in terms of states that didn't make the list including Texas and Florida. And we in the Northeast should be proud that we hold three of the top 10 positions.
Stacker relied on data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and ranked states by the number of solar jobs per 1,000 non-farm jobs based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note that this “per capita jobs” approach does favor smaller states. Nonetheless California made the list which illustrates the stature that market holds in the U.S.
Here are Stacker’s findings:
| State | Rank | Jobs per 1,000 | Total Jobs | Total Megawatts Installed | National Rank | Number of Installs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1 | 4.5 | 6,174 | 4,245 | 6 | 75,379 |
| Utah | 2 | 4.3 | 6,926 | 2,462 | 12 | 54,826 |
| California | 3 | 4.1 | 68,677 | 33,209 | 1 | 1,390,240 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 4.1 | 2,365 | 1,455 | 16 | 95,435 |
| Vermont | 5 | 3.5 | 1,046 | 390 | 32 | 9,306 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 2.7 | 9,945 | 3,486 | 8 | 121,515 |
| Arizona | 7 | 2.5 | 7,346 | 5,549 | 5 | 200,506 |
| Colorado | 8 | 2.5 | 6,771 | 2,131 | 13 | 89,831 |
| New Mexico | 9 | 2.3 | 1,880 | 1,253 | 19 | 35,262 |
| Rhode Island | 10 | 2.1 | 1,010 | 449 | 29 | 10,006 |
Other interesting findings:
- Rhode Island quadrupled its solar production between 2018 and 2020
- In Arizona Albertsons Companies, which owns Albertsons, Safeway, and other supermarkets, generates over four million kilowatt-hours of energy annually to help power their stores.
- Solar produces more than 14% of Vermont’s power.
- In 2020, 35% of the energy provided by Hawaiian Electric—which powers 95% of the state’s residents—was renewable.
- California is the first state to reach 10 gigawatts of installed solar.
- From 2009 to 2016 Utah increased its rooftop solar installs from 1 megawatt to 130 megawatts.
- In 2010 Nevada approved the first solar project to use public lands.